Energy getting really offensive

Edmonton Energy's William Broadus (left) tries to keep the ball from USA All-Stars Jermaine Campbell (right) during the Edmonton Energy's game against the USA All-Stars at the University of Alberta Main Gym in Edmonton on Friday. (Laura Pederson, Edmonton Sun)

The Edmonton Energy didn't need much of it to claim their first series sweep of the International Basketball League season.

Playing a satellite home game at Olds College on Sunday, the Energy super-nova’d the USA All-Stars 116-82 to cap the three-game series, climbing back above .500 in one fell swoop.

“It was huge. The guys really came together. We’re playing some really good basketball right now,” said coach Peter Sambu, whose squad improved to 5-4 on the season.

Edmonton came together on the court just as the coaching staff was pulled apart, with head coach Skouson Harker getting benched while Sambu was put in charge in the interim.

“We’ve got a bunch of pros and they responded to my coaching and everything that we asked of them and we’re continuing to grow,” said Sambu, who is no stranger to the role after earning ACAC Coach of the Year honours this season.

“I think I did OK, as far as coming in and calling the plays and running the show. I’m kind of used to that at Lakeland College. For me, it was just another game, different day.

“With the Energy, there are definitely more seasoned players and older players who are more skilled.”

An impressive 140-92 victory in Raymond on Saturday helped push the series point differential to 90 for the Energy.

“We did it very easily and we did it like a team,” said Sambu. “That’s the part that I really liked, is we were really sharing the ball and were taking collective responsibility on the defensive end.

“There was no let-up at all. We can’t let up, no matter how much we’re up or how much we’re down. We’ve just got to play 48 minutes.”

Which is exactly what they did, beginning with Friday’s 131-123 win at the U of A main gym and carrying through the entire weekend.

“It was gruelling,” said Sambu, whose squad had less than 24 hours of turnaround time prior to Sunday’s game, including the trip north from Lethbridge.

“Our guys responded wonwith a real pro mentality.”

Scoring and game statistics from the satellite games hadn’t been updated on the IBL website as of press time.

But this weekend’s games were more than just about numbers. They were the first steps towards expanding the league beyond a single Canadian franchise.

While the opposing team played under the banner of the All-Stars — who don’t travel, but organize teams to play in each of the IBL cities — the players were made up of talent from Calgary and Saskatoon.

“It was the first real eye-opener for them to try to bring in a team to Calgary, on how much they need to grow,” said Sambu.

“It was good for them to have an understanding of how far they need to come in order to be competitive at this level.”

Until then, the Energy represent not only Edmonton, but the rest of the province. This weekend was the first chance to bring their game to some other Alberta venues, drawing a couple of hundred fans in Raymond and over 400 in Olds.

“To draw 200-500 people away from our home gym, it’s really promising that maybe the Energy is catching on in this province,” Sambu said.

“We want to make this an organization that our province is proud of, our city is proud of and our country is proud of.”